New directions in science-enabling autonomy for planetary missions

Autonomy concepts now exert powerful influence on the development of a wide range of aerospace systems. Their value for automating spacecraft functions such as guidance, navigation and control is well-recognized. However, relatively little effort has been devoted in the past to their use in the context of payload data processing and understanding. In this paper, we focus on the use of autonomy to enable and enhance scientific goals for spaceborne missions. We argue that the general notions of autonomy can be applied directly to a broad range of scientific problems in ways that have never before been considered. We begin by outlining our general philosophy, and by describing the ways in which autonomy can be used to transform the ways in which spaceborne science is conducted. This is followed by a description of two novel systems that we have developed to exploit this philosophy for planetary missions.